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Brentford striker Ivan Toney has accepted breaking Football Association betting rules ahead of his appearance before a disciplinary panel.
It means the 26-year-old is potentially facing a lengthy ban.
Toney was charged with 232 breaches in November and a further 30 in December.
It is understood he has admitted many of the offences but is contesting others. FA rule E8 bans players from betting on games, or sharing information for betting purposes.
The alleged breaches took place between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021, during which time Toney represented Scunthorpe United, Wigan Athletic, Peterborough United and Brentford.
The forward has scored 14 goals in 21 Premier League games this season, helping Brentford to ninth in the table and leaving them in contention for European qualification.
However, any ban for Toney could dent their chances of playing European football next season.
It would also affect the forward’s chances of an England call-up with European Championship qualification games against Ukraine and Italy coming up in March.
Toney made Gareth Southgate’s squad last autumn, though he was not in the 26-man party which travelled to the World Cup in Qatar.
England defender Kieran Trippier was banned for 10 weeks by the FA in December 2020 for giving out information for others to bet on his transfer from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid.
In 2017, Joey Barton – then a Burnley player – was banned for 18 months, reduced to 13 on appeal, after admitting placing 1,260 football-related bets over a 10-year period.
By Simon Stone
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